GOAL! Aston Villa 0-1 Chelsea (Mayling OG, 82)

80 min: Hanson goes to ground holding her face after challenging Björn for the ball. Replays show she appeared to get caught by a flailing arm, but she does not require any medical attention.

78 min: Here she is! Keira Walsh is on for her Chelsea debut! She replaces James and makes her way straight into midfield.

77 min: Another change for Aston Villa as Grant makes way for Adriana Leon with just over 10 minutes left to play.

75 min: Looking at the replay of that Aston Villa chance, Hampton actually managed to get the smallest of fingertip touches on the ball to steer it onto the bar. What a save! Phenomenal from the England keeper!

73 min: What a chance for Aston Villa! Nobbs plays a great pass through to Hanson, who glances up before unleashing a powerful strike. Her effort flies over Hampton but smashes the crossbar, prompting an almighty “oooooooh” from the home fans. The best chance of the match by far!

71 min: A wave of boos echo around Villa Park as the hosts are denied a corner. Hanson looks completely perplexed. I don’t know how that hasn’t been given…

67 min: Parker lands awkwardly after challenging Ramírez and requires attention from the physios. Luckily for Villa, she is able to play on. The hosts are eventually awarded a free kick.

65 min: Natalia Arroyo makes her first substitution as Aston Villa manager. Nunes, who has been a big threat to Chelsea this afternoon, is replaced by Miri Taylor.

63 min: Chelsea make a fourth substitution as Maika Hamano replaces Macario.

62 min: Baijings receives the first yellow card of the match for a shirt pull on James. Chelsea have a free kick just inside Aston Villa’s half which is sent into the box, but D’Angelo is able to claim it fairly easily.

61 min: Macario attempts a shot from just outside the box, but it is comfortably saved by D’Angelo.

60 min: James plays a pass through the middle to Ramírez, who loses a shoulder-to-shoulder battle against Parker. The defender then turns around to the striker and gestures to her to get back up as D’Angelo claims possession!

57 min: Good news for Aston Villa fans… Daly is back on the pitch after receiving treatment for that ankle knock.

56 min: Two changes for Chelsea now as Kaptein is replaced by Sjoeke Nüsken and Beever-Jones makes way for Mayra Ramírez, who makes a beeline for the No9 position.

54 min: Some concern for Aston Villa now as Daly goes to ground pointing to her ankle. She appeared to suffer the knock while attempting an overhead kick on the penalty spot.

50 min: Beever-Jones goes to ground following a challenge from Maritz and grabs her hamstring - where the defender appeared to accidentally step as she made the challenge. Luckily for Chelsea, the forward can play on.

47 min: Nunes draws a foul from Björn on the halfway line and Aston Villa have a free kick. A wave of claret shirts make their way up the pitch, but the ball is played backwards and the hosts restart from D’Angelo.

46 min: Chelsea made one change at the break, with Reiten making way for Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, who scored the decisive goal when these two teams met on the opening day of the WSL campaign.

Kick-off: Aston Villa 0-0 Chelsea

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Aston Villa got off to a positive start in the first half but dropped off slightly around the 15-minute mark, allowing Chelsea to gain more and more control. However, the hosts remained strong defensively, withstanding pressure from the visitors before finding some more confidence. Natalia Arroyo’s side ended the half on a strong note, but they will have to maintain that level of performance after the break to get anything from this match.

Half-time: Aston Villa 0-0 Chelsea

45 min: One minute has been added on…

43 min: Charles carries the ball forward on the left before passing it through to Reiten, who is narrowly flagged offside before firing her shot wide.

41 min: Bright plays a long pass over to James, who makes a run down the right. The forward cuts inside before drilling a low cross into the penalty area. Beever-Jones makes a run towards the front post but the pass is just out of her reach and it slips through to the other side of the pitch.

39 min: Mayling plays the ball through to Baijlings on the right, who cuts inside before passing to Hanson. The winger goes for goal from outside the box, but her low-driven effort hits Daly!

36 min: These last few minutes have been much better for the hosts. They have forced a few errors from Chelsea but just can’t seem to make the most of them. A big improvement.

34 min: Baijings wins the ball from Kaptein in midfield and Aston Villa kickstart a promising counter attack. Daly receives possession around 40 yards out from goal and looks to play a pass through to Grant on the right, but the winger is flagged offside.

30 min: Around 15 minutes to go now in this half and Chelsea have been the better team by far. Aston Villa have not had much of a look-in at all.

28 min: Chelsea have certainly been the dominant force in this match. Aside from that early mistake, Hampton barely had to do anything in the opening stages. Aston Villa need to find a way to break through that stubborn Blues defence if they want anything from this game.

25 min: Macario steps up to take a corner. Bright flicks it on at the front post but no Chelsea players are there to tap it in. D’Angelo immediately picks up the ball and looks to initiate the counter attack, but there is nobody there and Chelsea win back possession with ease.

23 min: Aston Villa have found themselves on the back foot in the last 10 minutes or so, absorbing a constant flow of pressure from the visitors. Chelsea have started to take control and they are closing in on a potential opener.

20 min: A Chelsea cross is sent into the Aston Villa penalty area and it finds Charles at the back post. The defender finds herself just in front of goal but somehow heads the ball back towards the penalty spot.

Chelsea can’t make the most of the chance in the end and Villa can make the clearance.

18 min: The corner is sent into the box and Björn attempts to flick it on at the front post, but her effort loops over the crossbar and lands on top of the net.

17 min: Chance for Chelsea this time! Beever-Jones sets the ball back to Björn, who spots the run of Kaptein in the box. The midfielder then squares it across to Macario, who passes possession onto James. The England star goes for goal but Parker gets back to block the shot, deflecting the ball behind for a corner.

14 min: Huge chance for Aston Villa! Hampton scuffs her clearance and the ball falls straight to the feet of Nunes around 30 yards out from goal. The Brazilian attempts to chip her from distance, but the Chelsea keeper gets a hand to it before safely making the catch.

12 min: Aston Villa have looked very comfortable in possession so far. They are not rushing things and they are being patient when going forward, not falling into any traps or errors.

9 min: Patten is caught out in possession by James in a dangerous position. The Chelsea forward looks to drive through on goal down the middle but the defender does a great job to track back and go shoulder-to-shoulder before D’Angelo collects.

8 min: Patten, Baijings and Grant link up on the right as they look to break through the Chelsea defence, but the visitors are able to clear their lines following a Villa throw-in.

5 min: Reiten receives a throw-in from Charles just inside Aston Villa’s half. She makes a sharp turn before driving into the box and looks to find Charles again on the overlap, but the forward overhits her pass and it runs out of play.

4 min: Chelsea have possession and the ball is passed to Cuthbert on the halfway line. The midfielder looks to play forward but is fouled by Patten and Chelsea have a free kick in midfield.

2 min: Daly picks up the ball in midfield and turns into trouble, but she goes to ground after colliding with Macario and Aston Villa have a free kick.

Kick-off

The teams are out at Villa Park! Kick-off is just a few minutes away…

Arsenal have just earned a huge 4-3 win over Manchester City – a result that could prove to be crucial in the race for a Champions League spot at the end of the season. John Brewin has been covering that match this afternoon, click here for his minute-by-minute recap…

Previewing today’s game earlier this week, Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor said: “My mentality is to make sure we take it game by game. I always expect to have a difficult game. The only way to make the game look easier for us is when we are efficient. Every game is three points, so the game coming this Sunday is as important as the Arsenal game we just played.”

Chelsea had the perfect transfer window according to our very own Tom Garry. Click here to see how well every other WSL club did…

During her pre-match press conference, Aston Villa manager Natalia Arroyo said: “There are enough points to think that we can achieve bigger positions. Our mission and our goal in these months is to make this gap shorter. Not in terms of points, but feeling we can really compete with them in every game.

“Some results against these teams were good, others not. Why not understand that we can compete against them?”

Chelsea have completed two huge new signings in the last week. Naomi Girma was unveiled to a packed Stamford Bridge last Sunday following her record-breaking transfer from San Diego Wave. Then, on deadline day, England midfielder Keira Walsh completed a late move from Barcelona.

Could these additions be the key to Chelsea finally winning that elusive Champions League title?

New Chelsea signings Keira Walsh and Femke Liefting are on the bench today. Walsh completed a €550,000 (£460,000) transfer from Barcelona on deadline day while Liefting joined from Dutch club AZ Alkmaar.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Walsh come on for her debut during the match…

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